Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide fell to No. 1 Michigan Monday at the Rose Bowl, 27-20.

The Tide, as they have all season, played their best in the 2nd half, but it wasn’t quite enough. Ultimately, Michigan’s stifling defense came up huge in overtime to hand the Wolverines a ticket to the national championship game.

Following the game, Saban was asked to assess the 2023 Crimson Tide while keeping in mind past teams that Saban has coached. He insisted that, despite the loss, this is a team that he belives he will look back on and be “most proud of” for how they battled back following an early-season loss to Texas and a rough showing in a win against USF.

Here’s his full quote:

“I just think that… I don’t look at it necessarily from winning and losing, you won the championship you didn’t win the championship,” Saban said. “As a coach you’re always trying to get your teams to improve and be the best they can be. I think this team probably improved from the South Florida game, the Texas game early in the season as much as any team I’ve ever coached. That takes a lot of hard work, people being committed, doing what they need to do to self-assess and improve their game. All these players bought in on this team and did it in first class fashion… That’s why I think, for me as a coach, it’s one of the teams that I’ll always remember most and be most proud of.”

Hear more from Saban below: